1. Field of the Invention
The invention is in the field of visual coverage of sporting events, and in special deals with anticipating and analyzing object trajectory in sports involving flying objects of a variety of kinds, baseball, football, golf, tennis, etc.
2. Description of Related Art
Since the invention of the television set, sporting events are captured by video cameras and are broadcasted to interesting viewers all over the globe. Over time, great efforts have been paid for improvement of the data presented to viewers. For that sake, several cameras are placed around a playing field, areas of intensive activity are zoomed in, and game segments are presented in slow motion. Such improvements enhance the viewer experience and furnish vital performance data to coachers and commentators.
A ball or other flying object has a central rule in many sports, and therefore its trajectory attracted some attention, In the past, ball trajectories have been calculated and presented using simplified physical models, and solving ballistic equations of motion. However, balls interact with players, with moving objects like bat, and with fixed objects like the ground. While flying in air, balls interact with the air by effects like friction, wind and effect of spin on curving the trajectory beyond gravity. Therefore, the data achieved in the past on ball trajectory lack accuracy and analysis of those interactions. There is a need for, and it would be advantageous to have greater accuracy of the ball trajectory, to overcome absence of data in specific cases like ball occlusion during a game, and to take care of collisions with ground and with bats.